Harry was able to finish the model in record time, which meant, he'd basically finished it by lunch. He was really pleased with himself, too. His original estimate didn't take into consideration his enhanced processing speed, due to the occlumency. He went to meet up with his friends, and came back, after.
"So, where are we at, Madam Pomphrey?" Harry asked, after knocking and hearing her telling him to come in. She knew it was him, because of the hat.
"To be frank, I don't know." she admitted. "I know what you need, and I have a few ideas about achieving it, but I don't know if I can interact with your model, using what I have." She'd been testing making connections like Harry did. She had a few already tested and stored in a new folder. Things like channels for magic, bindings, pooling and so forth. Things healers knew more about, due to the need to be able to fix many strange and unusual maladies. One, that she thought might be the most useful, was a form of binding that connected splinched people back together.
"Oh." Harry said. It did make sense. "I actually have an idea, that I should have acted on, before, honestly." he said, as he walked up next to her. "Can you let me see?" he asked. She switched on the Lumos function, which Harry had helped her put in, and then he could see it. Doing the same, on his, he walked up beside her, and moved his interface, by hand, until the very edge was overlapping. Then, he put his one finger on the top, where they met. "Okay, I'm trying to connect our interfaces. Put your finger at the bottom, like I'm doing with the top, here, and just accept. I've got the function already mostly figured out."
Poppy nodded and did just that.
Harry quickly activated the function he'd made, from inside his hidden box, and first his interface lit up, and then hers, as she accepted a strange feeling, like a question, until they were the same, before fading to normal levels. "Cool." he said, as he walked away. Both displays went with him, with Poppy's being a little more see-through, but they also duplicated on her side, with Harry's being a little more faded, so that they were both looking at both. "Now, let's see if this works." he said, before he went to his model of Quirrell.
Poppy looked on her copy of Harry's interface and saw what he was doing. She saw Quirrell's body, which was naked, but fortunately with some things hidden behind a faded privacy function Harry had made for his own, after Poppy had done the same for hers. Harry may have no shame, or not be old enough to feel shame, or something, but she sure as hell didn't want him seeing certain things. That was before she'd covered her model in a hospital gown.
Harry didn't do clothes, but he didn't want to see that either, so he'd just stuck to using the privacy function.
He pulled the model from his interface to his copy of hers, and she watched as it moved smoothly from his interface to hers. "There you go." he said. "Now we can do a proper collaboration, when you want to. Just activate the connection point that I made, to close my view, and activate the one you made, to request that I open mine to you, again."
"This is wonderful!" Poppy exclaimed. "We can do our own parts and bring them together much more easily like this."
'Don't need me, anymore?' the hat asked, slightly grumpily, while Harry almost chuckled at her using different words to say exactly what he had.
"Oh, don't be like that Gryff." Harry said. "I made this so that if Madam Pomphrey ever needed power, or quick assistance, that I can connect to her directly. I'm still working on a communication function. Since neither of us are legilimens, we'll need to speak out loud, which means we'll need privacy. I've got an idea for emulating communication like legilimency, though.
"I also thought that some sort of connection is probably a good idea. We should incorporate this into any other interfaces we share, so that we can either help, or maybe set up a monitoring staff, should we ever need it, one day. No chance of abuse, if we're automatically connected, should someone be compromised, or be forced to do bad things under duress. Then we just shut them off, or something." Harry finished.
"That's… actually a very prudent idea." Madam Pomphrey said. She'd not even considered that. A person with access to something like this, even if they were good people, could be forced to do things, to help bad people. The medical oath wouldn't even stop them, either, because if it's to protect someone, it would likely allow them to use the system for that purpose, no matter what it is that they are doing, as long as it's not murder.
'How would you emulate legilimency?' the hat asked.
"I'm still working on figuring that out." Harry said. "The current idea is to translate conscious thought into actual sound, which is then transmitted into the eardrum, via the models. Do that both ways, and boom, thought communication. Application is a little difficult, though. I've got no idea where to try and access those thoughts. I think I'll need to go to the muggle world, for that. I heard something about a brain's language centre, but I wasn't actually paying attention, and even with occlumency, that memory is way too vague."
'Posterior superior temporal lobe.' the hat supplied. This left both Poppy and Harry shocked. 'What? I got that from you, Harry. I'm obviously better at legilimency, than you are at occlumency.'
Harry snorted. "Well, I should have known better than to underestimate you, I suppose." he said. "I suppose that we might still have a use for you, after all." he added, trying to suppress another chuckle.
'Oh, ha-ha.' the hat said, but there was actually humour in his voice.
Harry and Poppy started working together, on working a connection. Unsurprisingly, it was Poppy who came up with the idea that ended up working. She did have magics that only healers knew, after all, including things that interacted, blocked, and directed a target's magic, usually to stop an infection, that used a patient's own magic to spread, or to encourage the magic to attack an infection, or curse. She didn't show Harry how she did it, but he helped her apply it, still.
Later that same day, they had a working model, connected with Quirrell's body, and interacting with his magic. Harry gave Poppy a good scare, by using something she didn't know about, to control the model, and while she was close to Quirrell, he sat up and reached out to her. She'd nearly cast a spell on the man, while she screamed, before she heard Harry's laughter.
"You think now is an appropriate time to turn into a prankster!?" the woman exclaimed.
Harry's smile didn't falter. "I've been working on controlling the model for a while now. Can you just imagine Dumbledore getting up in the middle of an assembly and starting to dance, as I control his model?"
"Control?" the woman asked.
"Yes." Harry said, nodding, and still smirking. "You know, program a series of movements, and have the headmaster impress the hall with his 'skills'." he mocked.
"Harry, you do know that mind-control is wrong, right?" she asked, frowning.
"Not mind control." Harry countered. "Body control. No different than the full-body-bind, but the difference is, I'm binding someone to a rudimentary model, and having that move them. I asked the hat. It's not illegal, and while I could lose a few house-points, maybe get detention, if I'm caught, I'd only bring laughter, and Dumbledore will not get hurt. And even then, I highly doubt they'd be able to prove that I did it."
Poppy frowned at that. Somehow, she still thought it sounded wrong, but at the same time, she wanted to see that. "I'll not stop you, but only if you do it to the headmaster. I think it would be a good lesson for him, actually. He likes manipulating people, after all. Let's see how he likes being manipulated from the shadows."
"Well, it's either that, or a waltz, with Snape." Harry mumbled.
"I heard that." Poppy said, even as she valiantly strove not to smile. Harry knew her well enough, to see her mirth, and he just winked at her. "Okay, so now that we have the connection, we need a container."
'Professor Babbling.' the hat said. 'She's got her mastery in ancient runes, and I suspect we'll need something from the ancient world, for something like this.'
Poppy instantly agreed, nodding. "I'll see if I can get a word with her, after dinner." she said.
"Um, hate to point it out, but we missed dinner." Harry said, having looked at the time.
"It's past eleven!" the woman exclaimed, having checked the time on her own. "You should be in bed, young man!"
"We were working on life-or-death things." Harry said, shrugging. "I tend to go to bed at around midnight, anyway. I just can't seem to stop playing with things. Did I tell you that I invented an interface-based chess-game?" he asked, as he pulled up the board on his interface.
Poppy was shocked, again. Such a powerful tool, and the boy uses it for playing games. "Harry, while I'm glad to know that you are having fun, you shouldn't be wasting your time on things like playing games by yourself, when you should be studying, or spending time with friends."
'What are you talking about?' the hat asked. 'When we play chess, he is spending time with a friend.'
"Gryff can play the game, but he really likes being able to move the pieces on his own." Harry said. "He likes to cheat, too."
'It's not cheating!' the hat objected. 'That move is called castling, and it's a legitimate move!'
"Not if the castle's been moved!" Harry objected.
'I moved it back.' the hat grumbled.
"He loves things like that, because wizarding chess doesn't allow you to cheat." Harry said, rolling his eyes.
'Okay fine, forgive me for the fact that I have a long bucket list.' the hat mocked. 'I'm only a thousand years old. Can't blame me for wanting to try new things, every now and then.'
Poppy shook her head and smiled. She saw the hat's scheme there. Even if it was something that the hat wanted to actually try, its mocking and grumbling, and generally acting much younger than it was, was giving Harry a friend that he could have fun with.
She decided to check up on Quirrell's status, again, but now casting it into the interface, and displaying the results on there as well. "We've got less than a day to check if this solution works." she said, sighing.
'Then I suggest you send her an owl.' the hat said. 'This is more important than sleep.'
The matron nodded at that, but she turned to Harry. "I'll take you to the kitchen for something to eat and then up to your common room, and straight to bed, okay?"
Harry shrugged and stood up, stretching and yawning. Suddenly he felt tired. "Yeah, I think I'm kind of tired."
'You've not used a lot of power, but you have been working on your interface all day.' the hat pointed out. 'That's a lot of brain work, even if you were having fun.'
'We'll finish our match first, right?' Harry asked the hat directly.
'Of course.' the hat said, sending him a mental wink. They tended to play at least one game of chess a night, since he created the board, and they hadn't finished one for the last two days, for obvious reasons.
After dropping Harry off, Poppy decided to go to Professor Babbling's chambers, instead. She didn't want her to ignore an owl, if she was already in bed. Sometimes people just took the note and read them in the morning. She couldn't afford that.
She knocked and waited. The professor opened the door, still fully dressed, which made Poppy glad she'd decided to come personally. "Poppy?" the woman asked.
"Good evening, Bathsheda." Poppy said.
"Please, you know I hate that." the woman scoffed, opening the door and inviting the healer in with an indication of her head. "I told you before, call me Beth." She didn't like her name. People always inevitably got it wrong the first few times, and she had started encouraging her friends to use Beth, instead. "How can I help you?" she asked, as she went to sit by a table, and continued going through her seventh-year's year projects, which she usually did with a glass of wine, or two. They needed to be marked, before the end of the year, because they needed their results, so that they could use them for their further studies, or job-applications.
"I'm here to ask a favour." Poppy said.
"Oh?" the woman asked.
"I can't tell you why, but I need something that can contain a large amount of magic and some way to seal it." Poppy said.
"Why?" the woman asked, anyway.
'Tell her about Quirrell.' the hat suggested. 'Better to be more specific, and get something that might actually work, than having her work under incorrect assumptions.'
Poppy sighed. For the next ten minutes, Poppy explained, leaving certain things out, of course.
"Wait, so you think you've got a way to remove the dark lord's spirit, who's actually technically still alive and which has been possessing Quirrell all year, and you want me to give you a way to contain him, so that he can't get away, while you continue to work on a way to get rid of him for good?" Babbling asked, her eyes wide.
"In a nutshell, yes." Poppy said, nodding.
The runes master looked at her colleague, with narrowing eyes. "And you're not mentioning Harry Potter, why?" she asked. Everyone knew that she'd taken Harry out of class, to help her with something. Now she knew what, but not how.
"It's his family magic that's going to allow us to try it." Poppy said, knowing how the Hogwarts rumour-mill worked, and deciding to just use the convenient excuse.
"Family magic that you've obviously been helping him with, all year." the woman said.
"I'd love to do this back and forth, with you, when I'm not actually working on life-or-death things." Poppy said, a little irritably. "Can you do it?" she asked.
Babbling sighed, before nodding. "The ancients had a lot of runic designs for the capture of a soul, usually unwilling ones, which they would use as fuel for empowerment rituals. I could have one, maybe two different variants inscribed into an appropriate vessel, with about six hours to work on them."
Poppy sighed, in both gratitude, and apologetically. "What would it cost me to get you to start on that tonight, still?" she asked, knowing what she was asking of the woman.
"Credit." the woman said, instantly. "When you dispatch the dark lord, I want to be there, and I want to be mentioned as having been part of it. Well, that, and I'll need about two pepper-up potions and a dreamless sleep potion to sort out my sleep-cycle when I'm done with this."
"That's all?" Poppy asked, shocked.
"He's got a horcrux, doesn't he?" Babbling asked, shocking the healer again. Babbling just shook her head and sighed. "Dumbledore isn't as clever as he thinks he is. He reacts to any mention of the dark lord, in such a way that I've had my suspicions for years. Knowing his body was destroyed, I did my own research. Took me getting Slughorn pass-out drunk for him to tell me what he told the dark lord, when he was still a kid in school. He thought he could drink me under the table, but I used to party with a certain band, back in my twenties. I've got the tolerance of whole ship of sailors. Wine is just cooldrink, to me."
"And the damage shows on your liver." Poppy reminded her.
"Youth doesn't last." Babbling scoffed, as she slid the projects aside. "I used to follow the creed; live hard, die young, leave a beautiful corpse." She opened a drawer and pulled out a large tome, followed by the tools of her trade. "I'll get on this now. I'll drop it off in the morning, and I'll expect those potions to be waiting for me. In fact, send a house-elf with the first pepper-up, please. I'm going to need it."
"Done." Poppy said, as she stood up. "And Beth?" she asked.
"Don't thank me until it works." the woman said, as she flipped through the tome.
Poppy just nodded and walked to the door. "I'll have that potion to you in a few minutes."
"Good." Babbling said. "And tell that boy of yours to come introduce himself sometime. I've seen that spark in his eyes before. He's got brains. I'd like to get to know him, too. You can't claim him to yourself, before he even gets to see his other options."
"Sometimes Beth, I forget that you're one of the most intelligent people I've ever met." Poppy admitted, a small smile on her face, at Harry being called her boy.
"Only Filius really ever got me." the woman replied. Flitwick was also a master and was also quite intelligent. Made sense that he was the Ravenclaw head of house, her head of house, back in the day, too. "Why do you think I tried to drown my brain in alcohol, back in the day? Alcohol is the great equalizer."
"You'll not be teaching Harry that." Poppy said, sternly.
"If he's smart, he'll figure it out himself." Babbling said, still looking at the book. "Now, go away, I've got work to do."
Poppy closed the door and went back to the infirmary. Once she had the elf deliver the potion, she decided to check on Quirrell, one more time, and then she went to bed. She didn't have the stamina of youth anymore, and these last two days were weighing on her.
III-III
Professor Babbling had come through for them, directly after breakfast, the next day. She delivered the results of her effort, two large crystals, inscribed with two different designs, and a box, with some runic designs, as well, meant to create an indestructible, inescapable spirit-cage. Even if whatever crystal they ended up using broke, nothing could escape that box, without a key, a key that only Professor Babbling had. A key, that she'd be breaking, the moment the box was closed. She could always make another, after all. Better not to leave things like theft, to chance.
Then, she'd escorted Harry and Poppy to the hospital wing. She refused to leave, telling them that she'll keep what she saw a secret, because the less people that knew, the better. She'd lost people to the death eaters, too. They could have the box, and crystals, but she was staying put. There was also the fact that she'd never seen magic that could manipulate souls. She was curious.
'Should we trust her?' Harry asked the hat.
'For now, just don't show her what you're actually doing.' the hat suggested. 'Chances are, if she saw your interface, she'd become like Hermione about figuring it out. I don't want to imagine what that woman would be able to do with an interface, no matter how you phrased a grant.'
Harry nodded, internally.
What neither Harry, nor Poppy had expected, was for Dumbledore to show up, one minute later. "Good morning." he said, as he walked in, uninvited.
"Not now, headmaster." Poppy said. "We're busy."
"That is why I am here." the headmaster said. "When I saw Professor Babbling joining you, I suspected things were coming to a head, and as headmaster, it is my duty to protect the children of this school. That includes Mister Potter."
Poppy frowned at the headmaster.
Babbling, however, had no issue speaking her mind. It had always been her most annoying, and charming personality trait. "Like you were protecting the children, by setting up an obvious trap, for a man that has the dark lord in him, in a school full of said children?" she asked, sarcastically.
"You told her?" Dumbledore asked, frowning at Poppy.
"I figured it out." Babbling said. "They needed a way to contain a soul, and you've been acting jumpy all year. How long did you know the dark lord was under that turban of his?"
"I didn't." Dumbledore admitted. "I just knew that he was the thief."
"Even better." Babbling said, shaking her head. "The great Albus Dumbledore didn't know the dark lord was sitting at dinner with him, all year." She turned to Harry. "How long have you known?"
"I figured it out, just before the headmaster." Harry said, smiling. He liked this woman. "I've known that there was something wrong with Quirrell all year, though. I just didn't know what."
"Good job, kid." Babbling said. "At least you came to Poppy for help. Mister high-and-mighty likes to play games and keep things close to the vest." she added, pointing at thumb at the headmaster.
"Could you not insult me in front of a student?" Dumbledore reprimanded her.
"I'm not the one insulting you." Babbling said. "You did that yourself, when you didn't figure it out, before an eleven-year-old. I'm just stating facts. If they bother you, make different choices."
Harry snorted. He really liked this woman.
"Enough." Poppy said. "We're here for something serious." She pointed at Dumbledore then. "If I see your wand, and it's not in defence of someone, I'll give you the same treatment I gave Quirrell."
Harry smiled at the woman, while Dumbledore frowned, but honestly, if something went wrong, then having Dumbledore there, may be useful to them.
"I'm going to suggest that we start, now." Harry said. He looked at Babbling. "Is there a specific rune I need to connect to or are the functions of the runes connected throughout the crystals?" he asked, as he levitated the crystals out of the open box, and over to the man. All of them noticed that Harry hadn't made a wand-motion, nor had he said the words. The fact that he had levitated both, separately, was not missed.
Babbling was impressed, despite knowing there was something special about Harry. She smiled, though. "Anywhere is fine." she said. She pointed at one of them. "That crystal should suck up any unattached souls, within a certain radius, while the other one is usually at the centre of a ritual. I'd suggest doing whatever you're going to, to target that one. If it fails, hopefully the other one will finish the job."
"Perfect." Harry said, as he looked at the man, and started manipulating his model of the man. Poppy was watching, too, but neither of their interfaces were visible. She just turned her back, so that they couldn't see where she was looking. Harry was looking at his interface, which was pointed at Quirrell, so they'd not see anything. Harry moved his wand-hand as he started working with the connections.
"What are you doing?" Dumbledore asked, not seeing anything happening.
"Dumbledore." Poppy said, sending him a dangerous look, before looking back. "I know you don't know better, but Harry is doing delicate work. Shut it or leave. I am paying attention, and I know the plan."
"But, he's not doing anything." Dumbledore said, anyway.
Harry sighed. "I'm creating a tether between the essence in the back of Quirrell's head, and the crystal. Then, I'm going to forcefully disconnect the tether between the man and spirit, hopefully capturing said spirit. While Madam Pomphrey tries to save Quirrell, after the shock to his system, she'll likely suggest I leave, so that I don't see the man die, because she thinks it will be bad for me to see someone die."
He would not mention that he was going to send Quirrell's model to Poppy, directly after, so that she could use that to help the man more easily, for obvious reasons.
He continued working. The tether was already in place, the crystal being visible in the model, already, because it needed to be there. Fortunately, making that had been simple, much simpler than making a human body-model, and the magic had understood that the model of the crystal was also supposed to be the crystal.
"First tether created." Harry reported. "Crystal connection stable and holding. Attempting to break the connection of the current host."
"Remember to distance yourself from the connection, as soon as possible." Poppy reminded him.
"Already worked that into the procedure." Harry assured her. "Once the second tether is broken, I'm just staying connected long enough to confirm that the spirit is not able to escape and then I'm wiping the model."
Poppy nodded, while both Babbling and Dumbledore frowned. They still saw nothing happening. Babbling was bubbling with curiosity (Yeah, I had to do it.), while Dumbledore was simply confused.
"Tether is resisting." Harry said, as he felt the connection refusing to break. His scar was also starting to ache, quite badly, but he simply used his model of himself to numb the pain. "Increasing power."
Poppy looked at Harry's reserves, but they were still near ninety percent.
Harry started sweating as he basically tried to disconnect the connection between Quirrell and the spirit, by forcing his magic to comply. He grit his teeth as he focussed all his will on the task. "Let… go… you… stupid… bloody… parasite!" Harry exclaimed the last word as he sent a powerful push of his magic into breaking the connection, which finally snapped.
Dumbledore was about to reprimand the boy, but to his shock, he saw a black mist suddenly start to flow into the crystal from Quirrell's prone form, with a ghostly wail of "No!" as everyone there saw the dark lord's face in the mist, which was quickly being consumed by the crystal. "Release me!" it wailed, before the head disappeared into the crystal, and the last of the black smoke followed.
"Haemorrhaging!" Poppy said, urgently.
Harry understood and waved the model of the man to her side of their shared interface. He continued to watch the crystal, on his side, not noticing as Babbling took out her wand and levitated both crystals into the box, which she suddenly closed.
"Ow!" Harry objected, as the connection he had to the crystal was forcefully broken, due to the protections on the box. It had felt akin to a papercut, but in his brain. "Warn a bloke before you break a mental connection like that, please?!"
"Beth!" Poppy objected, even as she worked on the dying man. "You were meant to observe, not participate. You don't know the magics at play here. You could have hurt Harry!"
Babbling had the decency to look sorry, but then she recovered, as it seemed Harry was fine. "Sorry about that. Just wanted to put the spirit in a secure container." she said, honestly. "Even if the crystal fails, he's not getting out of that. Not without this key." she said, as she pulled out the key, and instantly snapped it.
"Nice." Harry said, smiling. "And, I forgive you." he said.
"Get Harry out." Poppy instructed. She actually thought she may be able to stabilize the man, but he'd still likely die later that day, due to natural deterioration. "Beth, please stay with him, and don't leave him alone with the headmaster."
"You actually did it." Dumbledore said, in shock as he looked at the box.
'Get that box away from him.' the hat told Harry. 'I don't know that he won't decide to hand it to the DMLE. You never know who would then get their hands on it. Hogwarts can keep it safe, and I'll tell you where to take it.'
Harry didn't nod, or agree verbally, but he picked up the box and started walking away, knowing Poppy would have heard the hat, too.
"Where are you taking that?" Dumbledore asked.
"I've got a safe place to store it." Harry said, even as the headmaster followed.
"Harry, my boy, I think it would be best-" he tried.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Babbling exclaimed. "You leave the capture and containment of a dark lord to them, and then you want to step in when they've got it all handled?!"
"Professor Babbling!" Dumbledore objected. "Please refrain from swearing like that in front of impressionable youths!"
"Bite me." Babbling countered. "You can't fire me; I just helped to capture the dark lord. You'd be a laughing stock for trying. And this 'boy' is obviously not stupid. He just did something neither of us understands, and did it with no chants, no blood sacrifices and no ulterior motives that I can pick up on. You, on the other hand, have already played your hand. You have proven you have ulterior motives and that you shouldn't be trusted with the well-being of a single child, let alone an entire school."
"Damn, you're cool." Harry said, smirking at the woman. She looked like she was in her late thirties, maybe early forties, to his eyes, but she acted like a twenty-something rebel-figure. He'd have to ensure to get into her class, when it became available.
"Harry." Dumbledore said, in a tone of warning. They were already out of the hospital wing.
'Dance?' Harry asked the hat.
'Oh, yes, please!?' the hat exclaimed, excitedly.
Harry stopped and looked at the headmaster, as he let his wand, which he'd stuffed up a sleave, stealthily fall into contact with his hand. "Do you like dancing, headmaster?" he asked.
"What?" Dumbledore asked, before he froze. He'd not seen a spell, nor heard an incantation. He wasn't even certain who'd cast the spell. That is, until he stopped being frozen and started moving erratically, doing a jig, and then starting to move in a manner his old bones were not ready for. He jumped and turned, and fell to the floor, where he started turning and moving like he was a much younger man. "What's happening?!" he demanded, realising that he had no control of his body, but was able to speak, which was how Harry had set it up. Muting the man, too, would be cruel.
"This is called break-dancing." Harry said, smirking. "I believe this routine is only about three minutes long, don't worry." he added. He'd been careful in setting this one up. There was an element of enhancement involved, to protect the man from the actions he was about to take.
Babbling, for her part, had been struck silent. And then she started laughing uproariously, clapping her hands and encouraging the old man.
"I'll leave him here with you." Harry said. "I really should go hide this, before the spell breaks."
"Go, kid." Babbling laughed. "I'm going to stay and finish watching the show."
"Mister Potter!" Dumbledore called after him. "HARRY!"
"He's gone, old man." the woman said. "And once this dance is over, I'm going to go ask him to make you do a Russian squat dance, next time. Just imagine the definition to your calf muscles?" she joked.
"Professor Babbling, please cast a finite!" Dumbledore implored.
"Will you be going after him?" she countered, before she started laughing again, as Dumbledore started spinning on his head, like a mad-man.
"I have to secure the dark lord!" Dumbledore insisted.
"Should have." Babbling corrected. "Past tense. They just did the job for you, and I'm willing to bet that they have more planned, to actually defeat the evil wanker for good."
"Please!" Dumbledore begged. He was still spinning and starting to look a little green.
Babbling rolled her eyes, but finally sent a finite at the headmaster. Unfortunately, for him, the finite just stopped the routine. Dumbledore's body shot straight, as the binding slipped from the model, which was still going on Harry's interface, and disconnected, leaving him in a standard body-bind, the foundation for this application. Unfortunately, it seemed his spinning was keeping him upright, and he'd actually increased in speed, as he straightened up.
This had two effects. Babbling's laughter became hysterical, and then he lost his breakfast, which had the fortunate side effect of stopping Babbling's laughter, in his opinion, and she hit him with another finite, before looking down at her ruined shoes, while Dumbledore fell down and finally stopped moving, breathing heavily, and spitting up the last of his breakfast.
"You owe me new shoes." Babbling said, knowing the headmaster was likely going to stay down for a while, due to his still-green face. Harry was also long-gone, too, so she had no issue leaving the man lying there, in his own mess.
III-III
The hat led Harry to a specific set of strange armour.
'Give it to the armour.' the hat said. 'It will store it in the Hogwarts vault. Only I can order it to get things from there.'
'Hogwarts has a vault?' Harry asked, as the armour became alive, and held out a hand. Harry put the box on it, and the armour walked away.
'Of course not.' the hat said. 'And if such a thing existed, it would certainly not be public knowledge.'
'And, of course, if a place doesn't exist, then people can't go looking for it.' Harry said, nodding in understanding. Then he turned, intending to go to the Gryffindor common room. He had the rest of the day off, now, so he intended to just relax, and maybe catch up on some studying. 'Professor Babbling seems cool.' he said.
'She's still full of spirit.' the hat said. 'She had a rough younger life. Lived it up, experienced things. I think she's stronger for it.'
'I like her.' Harry said.
'I think she likes you, too.' the hat said. 'Watch out, though. You and I both know she'll be keeping an eye on you, from now on, and I have it under good authority that she's likely going to try and get you to discuss things with her. I personally think she just likes meeting smart people. She outshone the rest of Ravenclaw, in her Hogwarts days. Didn't make her many friends, but she soon stopped caring, and just did her own thing.'
'That's cool.' Harry said.
'In some ways.' the hat allowed. 'I think she regrets some lost opportunities. As I understand it, there's no way to avoid having regrets in your life, though, because every decision you make, in hindsight, will reveal the opportunities you missed.'
'Unless you do exactly what you want to, or realise that given the same information and situation, you'd likely make the same decision, because you'd not know better. The only other way to avoid regret, would be time-travel.' Harry countered. Hmm.
'Harry, no.' the hat said, following his thoughts. 'Don't. Don't even finish the thought. We're talking universally destructive forces and the end of all life.'
Harry sighed, but filed the idea away for secret contemplation, but doubting he'd actually consider figuring out time travel. Even if it was possible, which it seemed it may well be, he didn't really have a lot he'd go back for. Well, maybe he'd like to meet his parents, before they died. 'So, I'm thinking of card games next. Making a deck will be simple, but ensuring they are all random, and function like real playing cards, would be quite the challenge.'
The hat was silent for a moment. Harry had given that up, too easily. Likely, he intended to look into the possibilities of time-travel, at some point. Hopefully, not any time soon. The hat would warn Poppy, but couldn't, especially since he'd read it from Harry's private thoughts. 'Just… be careful.' it said, again.
'It's just playing cards Gryff.' Harry said.
'You know exactly what I'm talking about.' the hat said. 'But, lets change subjects anyway. Yes, playing cards sounds fun. It's one of the things I could never do. Think you can setup a way for us to see only our own cards?'
'It shouldn't be too difficult.' Harry said. 'You've got your cards on your interface, and I have mine. We'll just have to keep the deck on my side, and… I'll probably need to make a sort of privacy shield for a place on my interface that you can't see into. Shuffling is going to be the big problem. Doing it card by card might make things difficult, and since it's technically in my head, keeping myself uninformed might be difficult.'
'Make an automated shuffler.' the hat said. 'You should be able to make something reasonably easily.'
As they chatted and walked away, the suit of armour was busily stuffing the box into his own chest-cavity, which was the only way into the storage space that Rowena had hidden there. Where better to put a secret vault, than inside a magical suit of armour that was externally immune to magic, and could defend itself?
III-III
The rest of the year was short, and before long, it was the day before the leaving feast. Poppy had called Harry to the infirmary, because she needed to speak to him, and he walked into her office casually, since the door was open.
"Ah, Harry." the woman said, smiling at him. "Thank you for coming."
"No problem." Harry said. "Did you want to have a last meeting, before the holiday?" he asked, taking a seat across from her.
"In a way, and not really." Poppy said.
"That's not cryptic at all." Harry joked.
Poppy smiled at him, before sobering. "This is about your home." she said, knowing she was touching on a touchy subject.
"Don't have one, currently." Harry said, simply. He knew that something was up. He'd been informed by Poppy and the hat, that they'd not allow him to go back. "I'm assuming you've made plans for me?" he asked, then. "Am I going to stay with someone, then? Maybe another student?"
"Well, that depends." Poppy said. "First, I should inform you about something that I should have a while back." She sighed at this. "I told you I'd tell you what it meant that you saved my life, right?" she asked.
"You saved yourself." Harry said. "I just sent a bit of help. You still had to do it, yourself."
She shook her head and smiled at him. "Humility aside, have you found out what it means, yet?" she asked.
"You said you'd tell me, so I didn't waste my time." Harry admitted.
"Harry, you're able to request things from people who owe you, if they and you both know it." she said. "A life-debt, is also a very big thing. You could request anything of equal value, potentially. What I have in mind, though, is something I think we'd both like."
Harry wasn't getting it. Did she mean he could ask her to sacrifice herself? Was death the same as life, in this case, or was it a monetary thing? What was her life worth to her, or something like that?
"Gryff?" the matron requested.
'Repeat what I say.' the hat said, to Harry.
Harry listened and started repeating his words. "I formally request the repayment of the life-debt between Poppy Pomphrey and myself, Harry James Potter, in the form of her protection and guardianship, if that is considered of equal value to her." he finished, frowning.
"It is, and I will do this in acknowledgement and acceptance of the debt." the woman responded.
Harry hadn't felt anything at his own words, but at hers, a feeling of something heavy settled into the room.
'I, Gryff the sorting hat, stand as witness to the bargain, and give my blessings, since the debtor is capable and willing of performing the requested payment. May magic bind the compact and enforce its will. Let none stand between these two willing parties, in fulfilment of the debtor's debt, which is settled in this agreement and is now considered paid.' the hat said. Its voice had a strange echo, like more than him had spoken. The other two couldn't know that the Founders had given their own agreement, which was what had been heard.
The heavy feeling in the room lifted, as both Poppy and Harry glowed for a moment.
Then Poppy smiled at Harry, got up and went to hug him, which wasn't something she did often. "You won't regret this, Harry." she promised.
"I don't know what this is." Harry admitted. "I'm assuming that this is some sort of ancient magic?" he asked.
"I'm now your magical guardian, Harry." the woman said. "With this, I am responsible for you, in the eyes of magic. Not even Dumbledore can force us apart. Magic itself would stop him."
"What does that mean, though?" Harry asked. "Do I stay here, with you, instead of the Dursleys, then?"
"Like a normal guardian, it means providing a home, and ensuring that you are not ever left to go hungry or without your basic human needs." she said. "I will ensure that you are given every opportunity, within my means, to achieve any dream you may choose to pursue. That's not strictly needed, by the terms of the life debt, but I want to be there for you. I want to see you succeed at life, live happily, make good memories, and God willing, maybe, one day have a family of your own, as I intend to be your family, from now on."
That word, family, which had before meant nothing to Harry, just a word to describe a grouping of people who were related in some way, suddenly meant so much more. He trusted this woman. He liked her. He even thought of her fondly. And, once again, he didn't know why his eyes were leaking, as she pulled him into a tight hug, again.
For the first time, since that time the hat had told him that he'd never be going back, he started to cry, as the woman held him. This time, however, instead of a lot of conflicting powerful emotions, he was overcome by one powerful warm feeling. A feeling of gentle acceptance, kindness and support. A feeling of safety, and protection. A feeling, of home.
As her boy started crying and shaking, she just held on to him, remembering what she knew of his past, the physical evidence of abuse, and the calm detachment she'd seen in him, when she met him. He was more now. Not just a child that had been wronged for a long time, but a boy that she would ensure never felt that again. As her heart swelled with sympathy and love for the boy, her anger at the people who had hurt him also increased. How dare they hurt her little boy!
III-III
Unbeknownst to either of the two, who were both weeping in each-other's embrace, a sliver of magic that had been building and waiting for the correct situation to occur, broke free from a hidden chamber, guided and freed by magic itself, deep in the bowels of the castle. It went to a nearby village and followed a train track, reaching London in a split-second, and broke away, going to a little muggle neighbourhood, where it hit a weakened blood-ward, which snapped and fell, just before number 4 Privet Drive, fell into a sinkhole. The Dursley's, who'd been eating in front of the television, were caught completely unaware.
None of them died, initially. Unfortunately, the ground around the sinkhole also fell in, burying the house. It would take many hours before the rescue workers got to the people trapped inside, and when they did, they'd discover Dudley Dursley with both arms and legs broken, in a very bad way. He'd probably walk again, but he'd never run, and chances of him being able to hit anyone, without hurting himself, would be close to nil.
Petunia Dursley's vocal chords had been punctured, and she'd need many operations to be able to ever speak again. She'd never be able to shout abuses at anyone, ever again.
The worst, however, was Vernon Dursley. They found him having been impaled by a rusty pipe. Still alive, but unable to be moved, he died a slow, painful death, surrounded by the smell of a sewer-line that had broken and run into the house.
III-III
Poppy Pomphrey was standing in the Headmaster's office, and he was looking at her over his half-moon spectacles. She'd just told him what they had done the previous day, and what they had planned.
"So, you've been granted guardianship, by the ancient magics." Dumbledore said. He'd test it, if it weren't for the fact that he believed her. Frankly, he wanted it to be true. He'd seen the connection between Poppy and Harry growing and had hoped she could be more than just his healer. "Are you sure you have everything you need?" he asked.
"I know how to take care of children, headmaster." the woman said, slightly surprised that he was seemingly accepting it. "Harry may be a very intelligent young man, but he's been deprived of much, in his life. I will not allow that to continue. His world should be large and full of possibilities. He should have the option of friends and normal fun, rather than just playing with his magic, when he can."
"I'd heard he had friends, now?" Dumbledore asked.
"He does." Poppy allowed. "He only lets them get so close, though."
"Having many secrets will do that." Dumbledore said. "Trust me, I know."
"I know you know, but trust is something that I'm fresh out of, where you're concerned." Poppy said. "As his magical guardian, I'm taking him to my home, and he'll be staying there, until the next school year."
"And your conferences?" the headmaster asked. He knew the woman had to go to certain healer events, to stay abreast of recent developments.
"He'll go with me." Poppy said. "Harry has a certain love of learning, and he's shown tremendous talent for adapting to new ideas. As much as I hate to admit it, he will likely enjoy learning about recent medical applications, and magical theory. A boy his age should be more interested in playing quidditch, or having fun with friends." she griped.
"He won't be able to follow most of what is discussed, certainly?" Dumbledore asked. He could understand why Harry sometimes seemed a little quiet, though. Contemplative. Analysing.
"He'll just put it on a list and drill me with questions later." Poppy sighed. "It's a habit of his."
Dumbledore knew he couldn't interfere. He didn't want to, even, but he had some news, too. "Well, I have no problem with that, as long as you are aware that there is a possibility of Harry being targeted. One of the reasons I had him live with his relatives, is due to a blood-ward connected to the boy, which Lily enacted, when she died to protect him. This is obviously not known to any, and I didn't share that information, for reasons you could probably guess at.
"Now, I was not intending to send Harry back to his relatives, and recent information has allowed me to start setting another injustice to rights." he continued. He took a moment, before speaking again. "Sirius Black was never the Potter's secret keeper. It was Peter Pettigrew, instead. It was done, then, in an attempt to hide who the secret keeper was. Sirius's plan, apparently. Unfortunately, it seemed that Pettigrew was a mole. He was an unmarked follower of the dark lord's."
"And Sirius Black was sentenced?" Poppy asked. "How? His testimony about the secret keeper would have put a lot of doubt on his side."
"That, is the current big question." Dumbledore agreed. "I've been trying to arrange a visit to Azkaban, so that I could speak to the man, but I'm getting a lot of resistance. Something about Sirius's case isn't right. I've been unable to find any records of his trial, which either means that they are being hidden, or that they don't exist."
"No trial?" Poppy asked. She frowned at that. "So, someone is trying to cover their tracks?"
"As you can understand, if I push too hard, they might decide to make evidence disappear, meaning Sirius would mysteriously die or vanish." Dumbledore agreed. "I've been trying to work my way around that, but even in my position, I need to be careful. When you are who I am, you have a lot of eyes looking at your every move."
"And you intend to set that right, to free him, and then what?" Poppy asked. She knew Sirius was meant to be Harry's godfather. She'd not let him take him from her, now that she had him.
"Now, I'm hoping that he'll be willing to join you, wherever you go." Dumbledore said, holding up his hands. "I can tell the boy has bonded with you, and while I'm hoping you didn't do that to gain access to his magic, I'm almost certain I know your character better than that. I have no doubt that it is impressive, though, considering your results against Quirrell, and then your subsequent entrapment of the Dark Lord's soul." he finished.
Poppy ignored the question in that statement. "So, when you get him free, you're going to ask that he joins Harry on holidays?"
"I started this process, before I knew your intent. I was going to offer that he stays with one of his friends, until then. Probably with Frank and Alice's boy, Neville. Longbottom manor has powerful wards and protections. The Granger girl's parents would have no idea of how to defend their own daughter, let alone another magical boy, from a magical attack. Fortunately, it seems that I don't have to worry about that, but I would request that they get the chance for a visit, or two." Dumbledore requested.
"Of course." Poppy scoffed. "I'll ensure it. Harry needs a bit of normality. Did you know he was not allowed friends? His cousin would bully any person that even spoke to Harry."
Dumbledore's eyes twitched at that. Those people really were monsters. "I assure you Poppy, the moment I'm finished with my current actions, they will be facing justice." 'If Slytherin's promised curse doesn't get to them first.' he finished in his head. He'd been looking out for news about them, but nothing had happened so far. Suddenly, he felt that he didn't care about them, anymore, so long as magic wasn't exposed.
"As of this moment, I'm acknowledging you, Poppy Pomphrey, as Harry James Potter's legal guardian, as well as magical." Dumbledore said, then. In his capacity as Supreme Mugwump, and the Chief Warlock, he could declare it, as long as he also filled in the proper paperwork later, which he intended to do. Poppy would need to sign the official paperwork, too.
"Thank you." Poppy said, sighing in relief. She'd thought the man would make a fuss.
Dumbledore saw the sigh, and sighed, himself. "Listen, Poppy. I know it seems like everything I've done was intentionally cruel, but I assure you, I just want what is best for the boy. There were, and are, reasons that I was and will continue to keep secrets but rest assured that I am overjoyed that Harry will have a more fulfilling childhood going forward. I trust you will do everything you can to allow that to happen. I just hope you can help undo some of the damage that I caused, however unknowingly."
Poppy decided to take the man at his words. "Of course." was all she said.
"There is one other delicate question I have." Dumbledore said, then. She nodded, waiting. "Harry's scar…" he said, leadingly.
"We are aware, and we have a plan." Poppy said. "Harry confirmed a connection, himself, and devised a way by which it can be removed, but we're withholding on that action, because there is a chance that we can use it, to find the other. That's the only reason that it's still there."
"You think you can find them?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes widening.
"Them?" Poppy asked, shocked. "He made more?! I thought the dark lord was intelligent! Who the hell would split their soul more than once, let alone the initial time!"
Dumbledore sighed, as he realised that they'd not gotten to that, yet. Fortunately, he was of the opinion that it was better to plan, with all the information. If they planned wrong, whatever they had in their plans may end up not working. "When you plan to move on the items, I'd like to accompany you." he requested, then. "I realise that you don't trust me, but I want to ensure the safety of the boy, as much as you want it. If you want, I'll just be your backup, and follow your lead."
"Harry's lead." she said, looking displeased. "He won't tell me the current plan. I know some of his capabilities, but I also know his skills are too widely varied, to be able to guess at what approach he would take."
"The boy is not just an inquisitive youth, is he?" he asked.
Poppy looked at the man, considering her options. She'd not betray Harry's trust, obviously, but perhaps it was about time to tell him a bit more. "Tell me headmaster, what is your impression of Harry?" she asked.
"Mine?" Dumbledore asked. He considered it. "Well, he's doing exemplary in class, which means he has no issues with learning. From the few interactions we've had, he sounds well-spoken for someone his age, and there's definitely intelligence there. He spends some time with his friends, which means he doesn't struggle overly with his social skills, though I have noted that those two have very few friends besides Harry and each-other, which likely means that he is attracted to people who don't have too many people around. Perhaps he struggles with crowds? He does seem rather quiet during meals.
"I've obviously noted an advanced repertoire of spells, and he has great skill, or he practices quite vigorously, when he is able, to cast non-verbal and motionless spells at his age. That could be overlooked, but then, there's the fact that even you seem to defer to him in some cases, like when he helped secure the dark lord from Quirrell's body." Dumbledore seemed to be lost in thought, for a moment, as he, once again, tried to figure out what had happened that day. He couldn't sense Harry's magic, until he started struggling observably to do what he did, to free the man from the spirit.
He looked up at Poppy, then. "He doesn't have any large store of magic, does he?" he asked. "He's no more powerful than he should be?"
"Maybe a bit more powerful than his peers, but as you know, a wizard's power doesn't fully manifest until later in life." Poppy said.
Dumbledore nodded at that. "Then, I suppose the only reasonable conclusion, is that he's been practicing the magic he claimed, and that gives him an advantage with casting spells." he said.
"I'm not discussing that." Poppy said.
"Of course not." Dumbledore said. "And I wasn't asking. The less people who know, the better. I will admit to being curious, though. I don't think that that's something that can be helped. I've been a scholar of the magical arts for quite a while, after all." he said, with a bit of a smile. "Did I miss anything?" he asked. He thought he'd covered everything.
"You did." Poppy said. "Harry's emotional growth was impeded, due to the actions of his relatives. He doesn't always understand emotions. He wanted to, though. He wanted it so badly, that he accidentally invented his magic, which helped him some, in doing just that. The problem, is that his success with his magic, has made him more reliant on said magic. I'm afraid he'll need quite a bit of help to take a step back from it. The problem with doing that, however, is that his magic has the potential to change the world for the better."
"He's allowed you his magic, hasn't he?" Dumbledore asked.
"I've been granted the use, but only for self-defence and to use in my profession as a healer." Poppy said. "His plan, is to set up an oath, connected to a revokable grant, which would allow him to bestow his magic on healers, to better help people."
"That sounds wonderful." Dumbledore said, smiling. "And quite smart, too. Healers would never be a threat, due to their medical oaths."
"The problem with that, is that he's quite right about how useful the magic is." Poppy said. "If he continues to do as he does, he'll one-day be hailed as the next coming of Merlin. The potential of this magic is… unfathomable."
"That doesn't sound like a problem to me." Dumbledore said.
"But we're adults." Poppy said. "He's not supposed to think like that. We're not supposed to encourage him to spend all his time on something that will only benefit us. He's supposed to be selfish sometimes. Do what he wants, because he wants to, not because we like him helping. It's not right for adults to rely on children. That should never be the case. And I'm no exception. I need his help almost daily, while I work on things that have already probably made me the most versatile healer in the world."
Dumbledore had a lot to take from that and would be contemplating it later. "Does helping make him happy?" he asked.
"Yes." Poppy said.
"Should you not want him to be happy?" Dumbledore asked.
"Don't you understand?" Poppy asked. "If he's never allowed to act like a child, he'll never be one. Who do you think he'll blame, when he realises that he gave up his youth, being 'useful' to other people?"
"There is a simple solution to your issue." Dumbledore said. Poppy frowned at him. "Make sure he has other fun, too?" Dumbledore asked, smiling. "You're his guardian, now. Make sure he has those options. Make plans, and drag him along, so that when he looks back, he'll remember that you spent that time allowing him to see the options he has. That you made him a priority, and not just used him. I think the common term here, is give-and-take. Don't just take. Give, too. And then, if he wants to spend time on helping, treat him like a child. Tell him to listen, set boundaries and force him to have fun doing other things. He may be intelligent, have some sort of unique perspective and struggle with things he shouldn't, but he's still a child. Be strict, but fair, and encourage him when he needs it."
Poppy didn't like that the headmaster was making sense. It was easier to think of him as a bad-guy. It was simpler that way. "Where was this Dumbledore, when Harry needed someone to look after him?" she asked. It wasn't meant as a slight, or insult, but an honest question. The old man obviously knew how to be a decent human being.
Dumbledore sighed. "I'm afraid I was blinded by my mission and responsibilities." he admitted. "I know it's no excuse, and given the chance, I'd change so many things, but the past is written. I've played my cards, as Professor Babbling so eloquently put it, and I'm afraid I'm not infallible. I was starting to believe what so many people do; that I'm the only one that people turned to, and that I always knew best."
He sighed, at that. "I think it's about time for me to consider taking a step back and allowing others to run things. Maybe it's time to elevate Minerva and go back to teaching. I do so miss the personal connections of helping the next generation. I remember enjoying that quite a bit." he admitted. "I didn't miss what you were actually saying, either. I realise that everything that is wrong with him, can likely be traced back to me, and the decisions I made for him, without considering the consequences."
"Are you going to do anything to fix it?" Poppy asked.
Dumbledore looked down. "I only have one thing I can do, and that is to work on fixing things, as they come up, as best I can." He looked up at the woman, and she saw unshed tears in his eyes. "I already broke him, Poppy. I can never repay that. I ruined his life, and nothing I do will ever be enough. I'm a monster." he finished in a whisper.
Poppy saw the real regret in the man's eyes. Self-loathing and fear. Fear that he'd doomed his own soul, due to his own actions. The hat suddenly had a suggestion. Sighing, Poppy squared her shoulders. "Albus Dumbledore, I, Poppy Pomphrey, hereby officially charge you with a life debt, owed to one Harry James Potter, my charge. Do you agree that you owe him at least one, due to the actions you took against him, even if your intentions were intended to protect him?"
Dumbledore knew he had to give the right answer, and in a flash of understanding, he, too, squared his shoulders. "I accept that completely and acknowledge the debt." he said.
There was a feeling of a weight settling into the room, as magic paid close attention.
"Then I charge you, Albus Dumbledore, as Harry James Potter's legal and magical guardian, with taking every action that you can, in resolution of that debt. You will spend at least one hour a day thinking of what you can do for him, in support of whatever future he chooses to pursue, as if you were representing the wills and desires of his deceased parents, and you will protect any secret he decides to share with you under penalty of suffering the cost of betraying a life debt, before magic."
Taking a shuddering breath, Dumbledore nodded. "I accept your charge, and swear to fulfil it, as you have stipulated." he said.
"I, Gryff the sorting hat, stand as witness to this agreement, in the place of the concerned party, Harry James Potter, my friend, and agree that the agreement was made with his best interests in mind, as the injured party." the hat spoke up, surprising Dumbledore, but not really Poppy.
Both of them could feel the magic in the room. There was an unexpected flash, as all three parties present lit up for a moment, as magic itself accepted their bargain, enforcing the intent, if not the letter of their words. That was why there was a witness, which was usually supposed to be an impartial person, who would be the one to decide if anyone wasn't holding up their end.
"Hat?" Dumbledore asked the hat. "I didn't even know you had a name. How are you involved with Harry?"
"Gryff and Harry connected during the sorting." Poppy said, knowing that Dumbledore's new bindings would make him keep this secret. Frankly, since the hat stayed in the Headmaster's office, it would be good for Dumbledore to have him there, to discuss things, before he took actions in helping keep his promise. "They've been friends ever since."
"But… how?" Dumbledore asked.
"Harry's new magic is very interesting." the hat said. "He allowed me to play with it, and we accidentally created a legilimency bond. I've been talking to him all year, and helped protect him, when you and Severus tried to enter his mind, on a few occasions, until he figured out how to do it on his own."
"When Harry granted me the magic, we were able to connect the hat to me, too." Poppy said. "He's actually been helping Harry more than me. A thousand years of experience has given Gryff a lot of useful ideas, and experience with young minds."
"That's how the founders knew to act." Dumbledore said, in understanding, as something that had been bothering him since that day, suddenly fell into place.
"The founders?" Poppy asked, looking at the hat.
"Sorry, Poppy. That's something I can't share." the Hat said. "I did tell Harry some, because he had a right to certain information, but I'm still bound by my magics, not to give other people's secrets away. That includes the headmaster's own."
Poppy sighed. "Fine." she said. Then she turned to Dumbledore. "Well?" she asked.
Dumbledore looked uncomfortable but decided to tell her. "It seems that the hat has a way by which he can communicate with the founders, beyond the grave, and through means I don't think I should discuss, was able to bring me to them. They judged me, like yourself, quite harshly, and forbade me to send him back to his relatives. Hufflepuff also charged me with protecting her heir, by cursing my soul. If I fail, I'll be unable to die, and eventually turn into a dementor."
"Oh, and Slytherin said he was going to curse Harry's relatives." the hat added. "I only bring it up, because the moment Poppy became his magical guardian, I felt something leaving the castle, and it felt very familiar to me. I wouldn't be surprised if their house caught fire, while they slept, or some other such tragedy."
"Slytherin?" Poppy asked, frowning.
"He's recognized Harry as his heir, by conquest." the hat said. "At least, he stipulated that Harry did conquer his last heir, and recognized his conquest. I think he'd need to claim that title, though."
"Harry would be Slytherin's heir?" Poppy asked.
"Apparently he's also Gryffindor and Hufflepuff's last remaining magical heirs." the old man said. "From his father and mother's sides, respectively. Ravenclaw said that they are distantly related, too, but I suspect many people can claim some relation to the founders, if they looked back far enough."
"I think her aunt was a line that produced many squibs." the hat said. "It's therefore quite likely that many muggle-born became magicals again, later, from that connection."
Dumbledore stood up, then. "If you'll excuse me, I believe I need to go check up on the Dursleys." he said.
"Whatever happened, happened yesterday." the hat said. "If they are alive, I hope they are in pain."
"Don't be so quick to curse people." Poppy said. "Harry might have suffered under them, fear them and hate them, but their deaths would still burden him, and likely make his emotional situation worse."
"Easy solution." the hat said. "We just don't have to tell him if they are dead."